If you’re looking to catalog the files and folders in a specific directory and its subfolders, a handy Windows Command Prompt script can help you accomplish this task. This tutorial will walk you through the steps to create and run a batch script that logs detailed information about files and folders.

Prerequisites

Before we get started, you’ll need:

1. Windows Command Prompt Knowledge: Basic familiarity with the Command Prompt is beneficial.
2. Directory Location: Know the directory path from which you want to log information.
3. Text Editor: A text editor like Notepad for creating and editing batch files.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Open Notepad

• Press Win + R, type “notepad,” and press Enter to open Notepad, where we’ll create our batch script.

Step 2: Copy the Script

• Copy the following script and paste it into Notepad:

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

REM 1. Define variables for folder location and log file
set "folderLocation=C:\YourFolderPath"
set "logFile=C:\YourLogFolderPath\log.txt"

REM 2. Initialize the log file
echo File Name,Date Created,Last Modified>%logFile%

REM 3. Recursively traverse the folder and subfolders
for /r "%folderLocation%" %%a in (*) do (
    set "path=%%~dpa"
    set "file=%%~nxa"
    set "created=%%~ta"
    set "modified=%%~ta"

    REM Check if the item is a file or folder
    if exist "%%a\" (
        set "type=Folder"
    ) else (
        set "type=File"
    )

    REM 4. Append file information to the log file
    echo !type!,"!path!,!file!,!created!,!modified!">>%logFile%
)

echo Process completed. Log file created at %logFile%
endlocal

Step 3: Customize Folder and Log File Paths

• Replace C:\YourFolderPath with the actual path of the folder you want to log information from.
• Replace C:\YourLogFolderPath\log.txt with the desired path where you want to save the log file.

Step 4: Save the File

• Click on “File” in Notepad then Choose “Save As.”
• Set “Save as type” to “All Files.”
• Name the file with an .bat extension, for example, LogInfo.bat.
• Save the file to a location of your choice.

Step 5: Run the Script

• Open the folder where you saved LogInfo.bat using Windows Explorer.
• Hold down the Shift key and right-click in the folder.
• Select “Open command window here” from the context menu. This opens Command Prompt with the current folder as the working directory.

Step 6: Execute the Script

• In the Command Prompt window, type LogInfo.bat and press Enter.
• The script will run, traversing through the specified folder and its subfolders, logging file and folder information into a log file.

Step 7: View the Log File

• Once the script finishes running, you can open the log file (specified in the script) using a text editor to view the collected information.

Important Notes

• Ensure you have permission to access the specified folder and create files in the specified log file location.
• Back up important data before running scripts that modify or create files.
• Always validate and understand scripts from untrusted sources to ensure they don’t contain harmful code.

That’s it! You’ve successfully created and used a Command Prompt script to log file and folder information from a specific directory. This can be particularly useful for keeping track of your files or creating a record of folder contents for various purposes.